Jodha-Akbar movie review

Here is it what I think of this epic love story.

It wasn’t really planned, the plan was to watch the marathi movie *Mumbaicha Dabbewaala*, but when we reached Ganesh Theater, we found out they weren’t showing it. So we zipped off to Eternity Mall, to watch Jodha-Akbar. I was reluctant to watch this movie, because I believed that the movie’s grandeur would hamper its pace, and end up making it a yawn-fest. Well the movie starts with Big B’s narration. The part before the intermission is a bit slow, but after the break it does pickup pace. Acting wise everybody is spot-on, and none of the actors seemed out of place. Of course Hrithik was excellent as he got maximum footage, and Aiswarya did her job well. No complaints, their chemistry is also quite bonding. There were times when Hrithik’s character had to show incredible angst and he acted in a way he has never acted before. There is only one problem, mannerism. To spot this, watch Dhoom-2 and then watch Jodha-Akbar, and study closely Hrithik’s mannerism, and you will understand what I am trying to say. His mannerisms are quite similar. Not that they are inappropriate but they seem a bit repetitive and slightly out of place (subjective). The grand war scene is good in terms of bollywood, but not furious like it is done in some Hollywood movies. When you do watch the movie, do follow Sharifuddin’s character. Because at the end of the movie, when akbar forgives him, he suddenly forgets all his villainous instincts, which seems weird as he is shown damn treacherous. But as I said these are subjective interpretations, so overall the movie is without much fault. What could harm the movie is its pace and Urdu dialogue delivery. There were times when the slow pace and heavily cryptic Urdu dialogues induced me to yawn, and bored many around me, forcing some to make funny interpretations, something hard to avoid in such period flicks. Still in spite the fact that period flicks are not my favorite, this movie was satisfying if not hypnotizing. Is it worth watching it in theaters? Yes, because only a large screen can do justice to the grandeur and splendor of a fine interpretation of Mughal era under Akbar, which seems quite real. The sets/scenarios are great and A. R. Rehmaan’s music is just brilliant.